Controlling access to an in-vehicle human-machine interface

Abstract

An in-vehicle computer is programmed to determine that a driver's hands are at least one predetermined location in the vehicle, the at least one predetermine location including a location on a steering wheel, determine that a vehicle passenger is in a safe position with respect to a human-machine interface; and provide passenger access to the human-machine interface such that the passenger may access operations of the computer that are inaccessible to the driver.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for a vehicle, comprising a computer comprising a processor and a memory, programmed to:
 determine that a driver's hands are on a steering wheel; 
 detect human speech according to speech recognition processing included in a human machine interface (HMI) to determine that the driver is coaching a passenger concerning operating the HMI; and 
 disable all occupant access to the HMI based on identifying the coaching. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one electrocardiogram sensor, the computer being further programmed to associate the data from the electrocardiogram sensor with the driver of the vehicle. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one electrocardiogram sensor, the computer being further programmed to perform a validation to determine whether signals from the at least one electrocardiogram sensor represent a human heartbeat. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor in a display of the human machine interface arranged to provide data concerning a location of at least one of the driver's hands on the steering wheel. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the human-machine interface includes at least one of a visual display, a touchscreen, a speaker, and a microphone. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of sensors arranged to provide inputs for determining whether the passenger is in a safe position. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the sensors include at least one of a weight sensor, a camera, and a sensor included in an occupant classification system (OCS). 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least two sensors arrangeable in the steering wheel, wherein to determine that the driver's hands are on the steering wheel includes to determine that palms and fingers of both of the driver's hands are on the steering wheel. 
     
     
       9. A method, comprising:
 determining that a driver's hands are on a steering wheel of a vehicle; 
 detecting human speech according to speech recognition processing included in a human machine interface (HMI) to determine that the driver is coaching a passenger concerning operating the HMI; and 
 disabling all occupant access to the HMI based on identifying the coaching. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising associating the data from at least one electrocardiogram sensor with the driver of the vehicle. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising performing a validation of data from at least one electrocardiogram sensor to determine whether signals from the at least one electrocardiogram sensor represent a human heartbeat. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising receiving data from a sensor in a display of the human machine interface to determine a location of at least one of the driver's hands on the steering wheel. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the human-machine interface includes at least one of a visual display, a touchscreen, a speaker, and a microphone. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising receiving inputs from a plurality of sensors to determine whether the passenger is in a safe position. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the sensors include at least one of a weight sensor, a camera, and a sensor included in an occupant classification system (OCS). 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 9 , wherein determining that the driver's hands are on the steering wheel includes determining that palms and fingers of both of the driver's hands are on the steering wheel.